Review – The Void

In a day and age where CGI effects and recycled ideas are far and wide, it’s nice to know that we can still be treated to a horror movie that draws inspiration from the best of the best and still feels fresh and exciting. That’s exactly what we get with The Void.

The film doesn’t waste any time getting to the goods and continues at a pace that keeps the viewer interested. It starts with a blood-soaked man frantically running away from what seems to be two madmen. He is then found by Deputy Daniel Carter, played by Aaron Poole, who reluctantly decides to take him to Marsh County Memorial where his ex-wife Allison Fraser works, played by Kathleen Munroe.

Once there, Daniel and the blood-soaked man (who we find out is a junkie named James) are greeted by a skeleton crew due to a recent fire that occurred at the hospital, and all of them are greeted by strange cult figures wearing white robes with hoods that have a black triangle covering their faces. These strange figures proceed to surround the hospital trapping everyone inside and are not friendly people as we soon find out. But what awaits Daniel, Allison and the others in the depths of the hospital itself is much less friendly.

You see, in the depths of the hospital is a portal to a hellish dimension that has the power to transform (maybe mutate is a better word?) corpses into grotesque demonic creatures that apparently defy death. Now would be the time where we would expect to see some CGI at work, but that is very much not the case. Very reminiscent of such films as John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Cronenberg’s The Fly, the effects are all practical and beautifully horrifying. At some points, it may seem like it’s a little dark and hard to see, but the film takes place in a dingy hospital, so we’re really seeing what the characters are seeing, and that to me works perfectly.

When it comes to character development, we don’t get everyone’s life story but instead, enough background information that more so tells us why they’re in the hospital and what connection, if any, they have to the situation. This gives the story a bit of a mystery aspect as we find out that not everyone is who they appear to be.

The movie as a whole feels like it’s right out of the 80’s, drawing inspiration from the aforementioned The Thing and The Fly, but also showing elements from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser when it comes to the gore and the Cult Leader himself. But what’s nice is that The Void is its own movie with its own agenda. Co-writers/co-directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski have something here that could easily be made into a franchise.

One downside about the story is that it does leave a lot unanswered. This could be to allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions or to leave the story open for a sequel, which I would have no problem with. Either way, it leaves you wanting more of this nightmarish Lovecraftian world that has been laid out in front of us. The movie even ends with what could very well be a cliffhanger.

The Void is everything a horror movie lover could ask for. It sucks you into the story, keeps you on your toes and brings you back to a time when horror movies were more than just jump scares and paranormal exorcism CGI gore fests. I’ve already started praying for a sequel.

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